Book review: Canefe N Critical Perspectives on Crimes against Humanity: The Limits of Universal Jurisdiction in the Global South (University of Wales Press 2020)

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17159/1727-3781/2022/v25i0a14988

Keywords:

crimes against humanity, legitimacy, TWAIL, universal jurisdiction, international law, ICC

Abstract

In the current anti-accountability sentiment that has plagued most of Africa, triggered by the nasty politics of selectivity that is primarily motivated by considerations of realpolitik or the interests of specific states, Canefe's book lays bare the fundamental moral, legal and philosophical standpoint that advances the argument that perpetrators of mass atrocities must be held accountable. Unfortunately, the reality is different. She explores the vast (and almost impossible) impediments to attaining such an objective. Recognising the distinct and persuasive voices echoed by scholars from the Global South, the book examines the utilitarian effectiveness of using universal jurisdiction as a means towards this end. The critical views and responses of scholars who belong to TWAIL (an intellectual blog that is hotly and hardly contested by their counterparts from the Global North) expose, debunk and denounce the legitimacy of international law. The book argues that an international legal order that is largely mono-culturalistic, developed from selected principles, values and opinions from the West, cannot and should not be taken as a prototype of the global legal order. Instead, legal pluralism as a distinct feature of a diverse and multicultural world requires that a consensus is obtained: this is crucial if the world seeks to achieve what she calls a "neutralized universalization" of international law.

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References

Literature

Canefe N International Criminal Law and Limits of Universal Jurisdiction in the Global South: A Critical Discussion on Crimes Against Humanity 2018)

Cassese A International law 2nd ed (Oxford University Press Oxford 2005)

Luban D "A theory of crimes against humanity" 2004 Yale Journal of International Law 85-168

Mutua M "From Nuremberg to the Rwanda Tribunal: justice or retribution" 2000 Buffalo Human Rights Law Review 77-92

International Instruments

Statute of the International Court of Justice

Published

17-11-2022

Issue

Section

Book Reviews

How to Cite

Agbor, A. (2022). Book review: Canefe N Critical Perspectives on Crimes against Humanity: The Limits of Universal Jurisdiction in the Global South (University of Wales Press 2020) . Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal, 25, (Published 17 November 2022) pp 1 - 8. https://doi.org/10.17159/1727-3781/2022/v25i0a14988

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